2009 Week of Memphis Crime - Aug. 24-30 in Review

Officers Kenneth Walcott, left, and Kenneth Johnson celebrate after making a burglary collar in East Memphis. Two suspects had been seen hiding stolen power tools, but disappeared into one of the nearby houses. Surveillance of the street yielded results when the pair emerged several hours later to try to make good their escape.

Union Precinct officer Josh Stanley, middle, with the help of fellow officers arrest a combative Demetrius Franklin, left, on the 1700 block of Nelson. Franklin, who has a lengthy criminal history, had gotten into a scuffle with officers Stanley and Prinshere Hall. Witnesses at the scene told officers they believed Franklin had been responsible for hitting a romantic rival's Chevy Malibu with bright orange spray paint and that he had been firing shots from behind a stand of bushes.

Animals are considered property in the eyes of the law. So when a man pulled a pistol out and shot 3-year-old Cinnamon for barking at him, the police filed a report for vandalism. Cinnamon was shot in plain view of her 12-year-old owner, Cornecia Crowley (not pictured). The bullet entered the dog's shoulder and passed through her belly, leaving her frightened and bleeding badly, but alive. Chelsea Crowley, 7, walks by Cinnamon in the family's driveway while they wait for Animal Services to pick up the dog because they can't afford to take it to an emergency hospital. Cinnamon was put down two days after the shooting.

Joshua Chase Nix, of Memphis, shows the result of an assault at Howz Park on Mimosa Avenue and Carpenter Street. Nix's girlfriend, Rachel Ross speaks with Lt. Ron Collins behind Nix. Nix said he was in the area with his girlfriend, when the two decided to take a walk in Howz Park. Two men approached Nix and Ross, and one said, "Hey man, my name is J.J." before punching Nix and taking his wallet and cell phone. Paramedics said Nix would need stitches to close his wounds.

Anthony Washington sits in the back of an MPD car, after resisting arrest and involving MPD officers in a foot chase following a routine traffic stop at the corner of Kirby and Winchester. Washington was found with 41.7 grams of marijuana in his shoes and was charged with resisting arrest, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture/deliver/sell.

While Lascott Parker sits in a holding cell in the Felony Response Unit office at 201 Poplar, his belongings, including a large amount of cash in multiple bundles, are kept in a container being watched over by an MPD officer. Instead of being questioned by Felony Response, Parker was put on a 48-hour hold because of an alleged connection to a recent shooting. He was later charged with attempted first-degree murder.

Aggravated assault victim Rodiques Kizer winces in pain with a broken leg as he waits for paramedics to move him. Kizer was found in the dark near the treeline behind Autumn Ridge Apartments in the Hickory Hill area of Southeast Memphis.

MPD officer Reggie Walker of Old Allen waits for word from the Department of Child Services to find out who has legal custody of a 2-year-old child in front of a home in the 2200 block of Hunter with no electricity. The child's mother claimed to be staying at the house.

Witnesses to family violence, three-year-old Gregory Moore and his mother, Clessia Franklin, wait in the back of a squad car while police attempt to settle a domestic dispute involving several family members and a boyfriend. Police were also called to the home a day earlier for an ongoing domestic dispute between two sisters. The argument was over furniture that belonged to their mother, who was murdered a year earlier. Franklin came home and found the furniture had been taken from her home.

MPD officers look at a bedroom in the Wilson family home. The home was ransacked and turned upside down by burglars, while the family had Sunday dinner with a grandmother. The burglars ripped the MLGW meter from the exterior wall of the home, leaving the family in the dark and trying to figure out where they would spend the night.

Sgt. Darren Goods and Sgt. David Parks interrogated this person of interest for several hours about the murder of Corey Porter in the Homicide Department on the 11th floor of the CJC.

Nicole Harvey tends to her daughter's friend after the girl was involved in a fight on Lauderdale at Laclede. "I just seen my baby's little friend on the ground," Harvey said, adding she didn't know what happened. Police responded to a report of fighting in the area, and more than 30 people were in the streets when they arrived on the scene. Paramedics and police had a hard time keeping the crowd from swarming the two injured girls.

Police received a call about a shoplifter from the Dollar Store in Frayser. When police arrived, they found him with more than a dozen items stuffed down his pants. Patrolman Jesus Perea waits for Errol Smith to pull out the toiletries including deodorant, toothpaste and two large bricks with several bars of soap in them. They handcuffed him and hauled him away.

Karen Spencer McGee, 45, (right) hugs James Etta Moore as she prepares to leave her rented home on South Orleans for the final time after vandals struck. McGee has been living in the home for four months, raising five children between the ages of 6 and 16. During that time she has been broken into five times, her dog was poisoned, she found prostitutes having sex in her backyard, and her life was threatened. Frustrated that her children can't play outside, she is moving out. She often offers support and prays for Moore, whose 17-year-old daughter, Tia Maria Moore, was murdered in 2005.

MPD officer Michael Sims searches an ice cream truck for drugs after stopping the driver for no headlights, and observing a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.

Defense attorneys gather in the 'deal room' where they are presented with pre-trial deals in exchance for a guilty plea by the prosecution during a recess in Karen Massey's General Sessions Court at the CJC.

Police were called to the 3500 block of N. Watkins for a domestic fight where a woman cut her wrist. While Lt. D.K. Shelton tried to defuse the situation, Chikita Miller cried tears of frustration and pain. She smashed her arm through a window, cutting her wrist, while she was fighting with her children's father. She complained that he does not help her and that he bosses her around. She was caring for three children under the age of two and had previously lost custody of two others.

Patrolman John Goad discusses with patrolman Joe Criner how to classify the beating of Randy Rogers.

Bernice Johnson swears out a complaint against her boyfriend and another woman who assaulted her. Johnson was frightened because the suspect took his pistol when he left the house.

Stamps used to mark details about a case line one wall of the 'deal room' where defense attorneys are presented with pre-trial deals in exchange for a guilty plea by the prosecution.

Shenice Bee, middle, jokes with Union precinct officers while being arrested for Aggravated Assault/Domestic Violence after trying to run down her ex-boyfriend Preston Patterson with her car at Rayburn and Trigg. Patterson said that the couple's infant child was in the back seat as Bee chased him around the block nearly hitting him several times. Patterson was transported to Felony Response Unit for questioning.

MPD officers take a report from homeowner George Sanford, victim of theft, as he describes his trailer that was stolen from his property on Timothy off Elvis Presley just south of Graceland.

Fleeing her abusive boyfriend, Revvie Howard grabs son B.J. Howard, 2, along with her three other children as they hastily vacate their Foote Homes apartment on Mississippi with the help of Union precinct officers. Howard left most of the family's belongings behind. Howard said that she would be heading to Florida in the hopes of breaking away from the abusive relationship.

After a long day of work, Julius Willams came home to find his windows broken from an attempted burglary on the 7000 block of Foxdale. Williams looks at the damage as he tries to secure the home for the evening before the home improvement stores close.

Marcus Myers, a customer service representative for U-Haul, looks under one of three moving vans hit by thieves. Five catalytic converters were stolen for their precious metals at a cost to U-Haul of $1,400 to $1,900 each depending on the size of the truck. Myers said thefts at the U-Haul on Union used to occur daily, but changes in state laws making it harder for thieves to sell the metals have meant a major decrease in thefts.

Tyrone Buckley, left, signs his ticket for Beer in Park issued by Officer Brett Murphy at Morris Park. Buckley was allowed to leave the scene and will have to pay a fine.

Anthony Taylor, 19, stands in the doorway of his home shortly after a man armed with a handgun kicked the door in and burglarized the house while two adults, a 3-year-old and 5-month-old were inside. When Taylor returned home from work he learned that his 5-month-old son was left sleeping on the couch while the armed robber, and a possible accomplice, went through the house. The burglars took only a flat screen television, on which Taylor is still paying.

At Wolfchase Galleria Mall, patrolman John Goad gives a citation to a person who parked in a handicap space without proper on-car notification.

Lascott Parker sits in a holding cell in the Felony Response Unit office at 201 Poplar. Instead of being questioned by Felony Response, Parker was put on a 48-hour hold for homicide detectives because of an alleged connection to a recent shooting. He was later charged with attempted first degree murder.

Randy Rogers, 16, holds ice to his mouth after getting beat up on the way home from Cordova High School. He says two individuals got out of a vehicle and beat him up to prove to a gang they are tough.

After a burglary, landlord Gary Cook helps remove his tenant's Kawasaki Ninja from her duplex so the burglars will not be able to steal it if they return.

It's a long wait outside of Karen Massey's General Sessions Court as she assigns court dates for more than 200 pending cases.

Judge Karen Massey assigns trial dates for a long list of suspected felons via video phone to the jail in General Sessions Court during the weekly "cattle call" at the Criminal Justice Center.

Deputy Joshua Fox asks family members to leave court to clear room for people who have a pending case in Karen Massey's General Sessions Court at the Criminal Justice Center.

Sgt. Kirby Brewer interviews a witness to an Aggrivated Assault/Domestic Violence inside the Felony Response Unit offices at 201 Poplar. The woman witnessed an attempted knife attack on her nephew by a woman he had a relationship with.

Police were called to Vollintine and Maury where they searched behind businesses and found marijuana hidden in an air conditioner, chimney and down spout. There were also used condoms, dice, baggies and a scale found on the scene. It became a Found Property call.

Jose Aguilar, center, and Epimenio Sosa, right, replace a broken storm window after an attempted burglary at their home on Vernon Street. The responding officer had removed the window to dust for fingerprints.

Jeoville Smith takes a breath while telling officers about the man who attempted to kidnap her from the street while she was walking on White Station near Summer. The assailant attempted to pull her into a car before she was able to run to a nearby service station.

The New Allen station has the busiest precinct in the city. They have thousands of residents who are on probation and parole and they make an average of between 11,000 and 13,000 calls in a given month. They cover 60 square miles in the north end of the city. Lt. Dunn Ross makes his way up the stairs of one of the many apartment complexes where they make repeated calls.

Neighbors complained that people were using dope on the porch of 979 N. Willett. When they arrived they found several adults on the porch, which smelled of marijuana. A child ran and played in the front yard, while suspects sat in police cars deciding if they were going to admit whose pot police found on the porch. One of the subjects, who was already on parole, decided to admit it was his and he was taken to 201 Poplar.

Charles Murphey is escorted from the Felony Response Unit to be booked into the jail at 201 Poplar. Murphey was charged with Aggravated Burglary after being caught stealing a washing machine from a residence in the 2700 block of Central. Murphey's record shows 39 prior arrests dating back to 1987.

Wilma Crowder, right, shows Lt. Chris Kee which door thieves used to enter her home on Eva Street. Whoever entered the home had to break into two different doors, Crowder said. She could not find any signs of forced entry and neither could Kee. Crowder's son's XBox 360 was stolen. This is the second time she has had something stolen from her in a year, but the first at her new address.

Officer Thomas Walters lifts fingerprints from a car to see if two suspects are the ones who broke into Oliver Gray's car on Poplar Avenue and Lafayette Street in the library parking lot. Two men were trying to start the car when security found them and they ran. They were picked up only a few blocks away, and brought back to the scene for Gray, right, to make an identification. "I can't even leave my car at the library," said Gray. His steering wheel column was ripped apart and a key was jammed into the starter.

Maintenance worker Andrew Hassell boards up an apartment's front door, which was kicked in during a burglary at the Hillview Apartments.

Detective Freddy Romero, left, points to the logo of Tony Crum's company on Crum's 3500 PSI pressure washer, which had been stolen in early August from a work site at Sacred Heart Church. The logo, also on Crum's hat, allowed detectives to match the stolen washer to Crum at the Memphis Police Department Property and Evidence Storage building.

Lt. Daniel Barham, left, arrests Kenneth Brownlee, aka Walmart, 53, for stealing Tony Crum's pressure washer in early August from a work site at Sacred Heart Church.

MPD crime scene investigator Eric Carlisle looks for fingerprints or DNA on broken glass at a home in the 7000 block of Timber Rise.

Patrol officer Antonio Gray secures a home before the owner goes inside after an alarm call near Getwell.

Officer J. McCoy performs a search of a car in the Foxwood Apartments after a man was seen drinking in his car with the keys in the ignition. There was an illegal gun under his seat. According to officers, the apartments are the site of an organized group of Vice Lords controlling the drug trade.

Brandon Rogers smokes from the back of a squad car without the use of his hands after being taken into custody for unlawful possession of a weapon and violation of the open container law in the Foxwood Apartments in East Memphis. After a small, unloaded handgun was found under Rogers' car seat, another man approached officers and told them the gun did not belong to Rogers, but would not take responsibility for the gun himself. Rogers' wife and young daughter watched as he was taken away insisting the gun did not belong to him.

Patrol officer Robert Armour and his partner, Antonio Gray, check the serial number of a big screen television they found inside a vacant house while searching for a burglary suspect. The Mt. Moriah precinct task force had credible intelligence that a primary suspect in several area burglaries was living in the abandoned home. Inside the bedroom, officers found tools of the trade -- a hacksaw, hammer and slim jim -- along with an empty box of ammunition, but not the suspect.

While searching an abandoned home on East Mallory for a buglary suspect, officers found the tools of the trade -- a hacksaw, hammer and slim jim -- along with an empty box of ammunition.

While patrolling, Lt. D.K. Shelton, right, spotted Andrew Jones, 18, and suspected he may be a truant. Shelton passed the tip to the Trezevant High School school police officer, M.A. LeSure, who came and made a positive identification on the student. "Most of the people we are chasing he already knows," said Shelton.

While driving, Lt. D.K. Shelton noticed two pit bulls on the loose when the animals came out into the street and would not move. Shelton could not find the owner. Neighbor Nancy Tabron complained about not wanting to let her children out to play with the dogs in her yard. Shelton advised her to stay inside and then called for Animal Control.

Memphis C.A.T. police officers escort two women out of the Gentleman's Club on Old Getwell and Lamar. Two undercover officers busted the women for prostitution. They tried to get two other clubs on the same night, but were unsuccessful.

Errol David, a man who claims to be the former night watch man of a vacant building in North Memphis, was found getting ready to haul a bunch of scrap metal from the building when someone called the police. Officer D. Fields made David and his friends put the scrap metal back on the property until the owner of the property could be found.

Police approach a house on Northgate while looking for a wanted party. The subject was not inside.

Officers gather evidence, including a knife, used in an aggravated robbery attempt. They were in the 2300 block of Redwood gathering evidence when the man being charged suddenly had chest pains. He was taken to The Med, before being processed at 201 Poplar. The victim and the perpetrator were former classmates. The victim later dropped the charges.

Security officers and police try to resolve a situation at the apartments on Aspire Lane and Spottswood Avenue. The police were called to the property on a call of fighting. The man in the foreground was escorted off the property.

Patrol officer Philip Perez escorts a 16-year-old male from Northeast Prep School at 968 Mendenhall Road. The student got into a fight with another student, and when school security searched them, this male had 1.2 grams of marijuana in his pocket. He is charged with being in possession of a controlled substance.

MPD Officer Wayne Colson, right, runs the serial numbers on a Beretta .40-caliber gun found in a Chrysler Sebring during a Safeway Initiative special detail at Autumn Ridge Apartments.

Union Precinct Lt. J.R. Hester calms family and friends at the scene of a shooting on Trigg near College Street. A witness said the altercation started early in the day during a basketball game.

As Major Mickey Williams, CSI commander, looks on, CSI Jeff Garey takes evidence pictures of two handguns used during a shooting on Trigg. CSI Garey processed the two guns that were found on an old red couch. Family members of James Mathis (not pictured), who was taken to Felony Response for questioning for shooting Darrence Williams, meet in the front room of the house with police.

"I hate that I shot him. I'm glad I didn't kill him. But I did what I had to do. I didn't want nobody hurt," said James Mathis while shedding tears during questioning by detectives at Felony Response. Mathis' shooting of Darrence Williams was deemed justifiable after Williams was on the family property arguing with Mathis' sons while shooting in the air. Williams, who was shot in the shoulder, was charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.

Red tape secures evidence, collected by CSI Jeff Garey, that is ready to be inventoried into the Evidence Room at 201 Poplar.

An MPD Crime Apprehension Team takes a man into custody after he was found driving a vehicle not registered to him in the 1400 block of Orr. The man is a known offender to the officers.

An MPD Crime Apprehension Team checks men for illegal items after finding them loitering in a known high crime area on N. Hollywood near Shasta.

MPD Officer Tony Alexander, searches a car for drugs after smelling a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle on a traffic stop. The car was stopped for expired tags, and the driver had no identification.

Det. Billy Byrd and K-9 officer Dixie search long grass in the 1600 block of Rockdale for drugs after a suspect was taken into custody in the area by the MPD Crime Apprehension Team.

Task force officers Kenneth Walcott and Kenneth Johnson, left, from the Mt. Moriah precinct, take a suspected burglar into custody in East Memphis.

Antonio Jones, 11, (left) and Careale Rogers III, 7, watch police and paramedics at the scene of a street fight at Lauderdale and Laclede. The two boys live in the neighborhood.

Burglary suspect Jeffery Butcher is transported to The Med after falling while trying to escape security guards at the Technicolor warehouse in South Memphis.

When Elias Spinosa arrived at his home on Macon, he realized that someone had broken in and stolen some of his money and electronics. Police say Spanish-speaking victims have gotten more comfortable reporting crimes to police in recent years.

Patrolman Chris Bell pulled over Anwar Goods for driving without his lights on at Breedlove and Jackson. He wrote the 20-year-old a ticket for not having a driver's license.

Patrolman Chris Bell checks to see if the displayed temporary license plate is authentic on a car he pulled over on Danny Thomas. He found that the 20-year-old driver had no insurance and wrote her a citation.

Patrolman Chris Bell pulled over Rodney McGhee for having a cracked tail light at Watkins and Jackson. He found that the 28-year-old driver had two pending warrants for his arrest. McGhee was arrested and taken Downtown for fingerprinting.

Union Precinct Task Force Lt. Danny Barham (left) confronts suspect Troy Thomas on why Thomas ran from the police at Jefferson near North Claybrook. Thomas said he didn't realize that it was the police chasing him. Witnesses confirmed that officers screamed who they were during the two-block chase. Thomas was charged with evading on foot, resisting arrest, and criminal trespass after he ran when officers approached him behind some vacant apartments on Beauregard, a known drug spot.

As the sun began to set on a Friday night, more calls started to come in. Charita Mason admitted to stabbing her boyfriend, Clinton Pearson (pictured), with a large knife while the two were arguing. She was charged with aggravated assault and taken away in a police car; he was taken away in the ambulance. They lived on Southern Oaks.

Union Precinct Lt. J.R. Hester retrieves a .22-caliber revolver from the bushes next to a home on the 1700 block of Nelson where officers got into a physical confrontation with suspect Demetrius Franklin. Witnesses at the scene told officers they believed Franklin had been firing shots from behind a stand of bushes near the house of the girl at the center of the dispute he had with a romantic rival. Franklin was charge with disorderly conduct, two counts of assault/bodily harm, unlawful possession of a weapon, and resisting official detention.

Witness Justin Schweiger shows his rendition of how the Family Dollar store in the 2900 block of Coleman was robbed by two men with a sawed-off shotgun. "I could identify the gun, it was right in my face," said Schweiger. "He cocked it when he entered the store, to make sure we knew it was loaded".

Christopher Sanders sits in the back of a police car and answers questions as MPD officers try to sort out his part in an assault in the Autumn Ridge Apartments.

This old Memphis Police Department Smith and Wesson with filed serial numbers was found under the seat of Joshua Garth's mother's gold Infinity. Garth was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and a felony charge for filed serial numbers.

Ryan Donald is taken into custody by MPD officers on Autumn Ridge Court. Donald was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and a felony charge for filed serial numbers.

Union Precinct officer Carlos Castillo, middle, shines a light on the injuries of Tameela Palmer, 20, left, after a simple assault/domestic violence dispute with suspect Ramelle Martin on Alabama near Jones. Martin, who was romantically involved with Palmer, became verbally abusive at a corner market and began slapping, hitting, and dragging Palmer by the hair as the confrontation continued down Alabama. Officers observed bumps and bruises on Palmer and notices Martin's hands were bloody as he denied the charges.

A shooting victim shows the entry wound in his lower back to medics late Saturday night as officers question him and other witnesses about the incident at the Forest Pine Apartments.

Memphis Officer Steven Feinberger listens to a long rambling story relayed by an inebriated suspect as he responds with Officer K. Johnson, left, to a domestic call on Sparks St.

MPD Lieutenant Joe Newborn, left, and New Allen Station police officers use Bluetooth technology to look at the previous day's burglary report for suspect Anthony Hoyle after being called back to a home on 2700 block of Coral for a fight.

Booker T. Jones, left, talks with Memphis Police Lt. Gene Hulley on Tillman Street after Jones was sliced with a razor blade by his girlfriend a few blocks away. Jones said he was in his apartment when she came in and asked him to go out with her. He told her he was tired and did not feel like going out. Jones smelled alcohol on his girlfriend, and tried not to argue, he said. They got into a fight and she cut him with a razor blade.

Tabrina Estes, Curtis Powell, Alonzo Demesma and Dwight Mongomery remove graffiti from a vacant building at Getwell and Barron.

Kevin Yearwood, 35, faced charges -- including use of a firearm during commission of a violent felony -- after police found him hiding in a shed behind a home in the 3400 block of Carrington near the University of Memphis. The arrest came after patrol cars raced through Hickory Hill and East Memphis chasing Yearwood, well known to MPD for stealing from cars. Police credited a tip from an alert resident who reported a prowler near Ridgeway and Ridgeway Manor. Officers followed a car matching the description of the vehicle and stopped it on Knight Arnold. During the stop, the suspect fired three or four handgun shots, then drove off. Police pursued the vehicle to the 3800 block of Douglass, where the driver abandoned the vehicle and left on foot. His 28-year-old female passenger, pictured, was taken into custody, but not arrested. Yearwood was found behind his parents’ house and arrested.

Paramedics work to stabilize a beating victim inside his apartment in the 100 block of Belvedere. The victim was transported to the Regional Medical Center where he later died from his injuries.

MPD officer Tony Alexander, left, brings a man with an outstanding warrant to 201 Poplar for processing. The man turns in the inmate square as the guard checks his physical condition.

Pauline Wilson, 8, looks into her bedroom, which was ransacked by burglars while she and her father had Sunday dinner at her grandmother's home.

MPD officer Michael Sims talks to a family during a call for a loud music nuisance. The family was playing music from their burgundy Dodge Durango as they had a cookout in their driveway.

MPD officers Chastity Ragland and Michael Sims complete paperwork for a loud music nuisance. The family was playing music from their vehicle while having a cookout in their driveway.

MPD officer Michael Sims and homeowner Cynthia Bell look over the damage left by burglars. "I can't even go to chuch," said Bell, "I just want this to stop."

A young woman woman sits in a parked car, thick with smoke and a strong odor of marijuana, at the Bella Vista Apartments as she waits to be searched for drugs by MPD officers.

MPD officer Lawrence Taylor, right, searches a young woman for drugs after smelling strong odor of marijuana coming from a parked vehicle at Bella Vista Apartments.

Shotgun robbery suspect George Valentine sits in the back of a MPD police car after being caught following a foot chase at the Bella Vista Apartments off Hickory Hill.